We were about halfway through the Alpha Course. As discussion leaders, we had gotten to know those in our small group quite well over the six weeks we had been meeting together. One of the people in our group was very skeptical about Christianity. I wasn’t sure why she kept coming, but I was glad that she persisted. As we were talking about the church that night, this woman looked around the group at each group member and said, “If church was like this, I might consider it.”

This one statement about the importance of community and open dialogue spurred me on to grow deeper in my understanding of the church. I studied and preached through the book of Acts. I was struck by the deep sense of community that the early Christians experienced (e.g. Acts 2:42-47). I read numerous books on the church. I came to realize that a healthy church is a loving, Christ-centred community on a mission to be and make growing disciples of Jesus. This vision of the church led me into a church planting ministry for several years and continues to burn in my heart as I serve as co-moderator at South Langley Church and teach students at MBBS-ACTS Seminaries at Trinity Western University. I want to do all that I can to make this vision a reality in my church and in the churches of those I have the privilege to train because I strongly believe that the church can be “like this” and so much more.

In reading Acts 1-2, the spotlight is on the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that the disciples would have power to witness when the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 1:8). Then, the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost and enabled the disciples to speak in other tongues, which foreign visitors to Jerusalem recognized as their own languages (Acts 2). Yet, what were the disciples doing between the giving of Jesus’ promise and its fulfillment? “They all joined together constantly in prayer…” (Acts 1:14). I don’t think it was any coincidence that these praying disciples were the first to receive the gift that Jesus had promised. In the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson, "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of."

When I recommitted my life to the Lord as an 18-year-old, I almost immediately had two desires: to study the Bible and to share my faith. Growing up in Caronport, Saskatchewan where most of the people in the town were Christians connected to the local Bible College (Briercrest), I had to travel 15 miles to the city of sin (Moose Jaw) to find some people who didn’t yet have a relationship with Jesus. I was terribly afraid, but I felt God’s power as I hit the streets of Moose Jaw. That summer, I was a camp counselor at Ranger Lake and Luseland Bible Camps. Once again, I experienced God’s power as He helped me to share the Gospel with the kids in my cabin.

Over the years, I have gone through seasons where I am not as active in sharing my faith. Yet, whenever I read Acts 1:8, I am reminded that the Holy Spirit will give us the strength to share Christ with others. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”